Passover / 4th of July... Same Dif?

The king now commanded the people, "Celebrate the Passover to God, your God, exactly as directed in this Book of the Covenant."

This commanded Passover had not been celebrated since the days that the judges judged Israel—none of the kings of Israel and Judah had celebrated it. But in the eighteenth year of the rule of King Josiah this very Passover was celebrated to God in Jerusalem. - 2 Kings 23:21-23 (The Message)

"Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it." -George Santayana

Josiah was a good king in God's eyes. The Message tells us that "He kept straight on the path blazed by his ancestor David, not one step to either left or right." But one of the most amazing things he did was to reinstitute the celebration of the Passover.

Passover is a traditional Jewish celebration of the time when the Hebrews were rescued out of slavery in Egypt. Following God's commands, the Jews painted blood on their door frames. As God passed through the land, killing all the firstborn sons, He would "pass over" the homes that had blood around the door, and the Jews were let go. After this miracle, God told them to always remember this day, to keep it close to their hearts and use it to teach their children about God's faithfulness. But king after king had failed to follow God's command about this, and the practice of passover was forgotten for generations. Until Josiah came along.

As I was thinking about the 4th of July this morning, I thought about what my kids know about the holiday. Basically, they know fireworks, watermelon, and a 3-day weekend (my kids don't yet get the whole concept of the weekend other than that Daddy's home). But they don't yet understand how fortunate they are to live in this country. They don't know how our fathers and grandfathers fought and died to defend their right to do anything they want (or nothing at all). They don't understand the price that was paid for their freedom, and they won't unless I teach them.

The sad truth is, as a society, we're quickly reaching the point where people don't care. War has become political, instead of about fighting for freedom. In fact, I don't think this country will ever win another war - we just don't have the stomach for it. In the 24-hour news culture, people have become numb to the travesties and trevails of oppressed people all around the world who didn't win the life's lottery that is a US citizenship.

So this weekend, I'm whipping out the Declaration of Independence. At quiet times, I'm going to forgo the Sunday paper in lieu of George Washington's prayer journal. I'm going to try, in my best 6- and 4-year-old speak, to explain to my girls how blessed they are to grow up here. To talk about how God has been faithful in protecting them, and how we need always to be mindful of His awesome provision for us.

Have a great 4th.

If only it were true of me.

Hezekiah put his whole trust in the God of Israel. There was no king quite like him, either before or after. He held fast to God—never loosened his grip—and obeyed to the letter everything God had commanded Moses. And God, for his part, held fast to him through all his adventures. 2 Kings 18:5-6 (The Message)

Man, I hope someday this could be written about me. Not the king part (though dominion over a small Caribbean island nation wouldn't be the worst life imaginable), but at least the "put his whole trust in God" part. The truth is that even as I encourage people around me to just trust God, I sometimes have a hard time letting go of things. This is especially true in our church right now. I want to think that people will be giving and trusting with their money and support the church, but I worry about it. I want to believe that God already knows who our next pastor will be, but I worry about it. In my heart, I really believe God has these things under control, but my mind allows me to worry about them. I pray about them, and say I'm "giving them to God," but then my claws come out and I grab them right back.

But, reading about the life of Hezekiah is encouraging to me. He put his whole trust in the God of Israel. Not just the parts with which he was comfortable. Not just the parts he didn't worry about so much, but his whole trust. In God. The God of Israel. He put it there. And left it. And didn't worry about it. Ever. Wow.

The cool part of the story for me was the last line in verse 6. And God, for his part, held fast to him through all his adventures. Because of his placing his trust in God, he was blessed. God held fast to him, stayed by his side, walked with him. Through his adventures. He still had adventures, yet God was with him. Good encouragement for those of us who are prone to worry.